Automatic coupling for trackless vehicles.



e. W. BULLEY1 AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR TRACKLESS VE HICLES.

APPLICATION HLED DEC- l3| I915- Patelited Aug. 27, 19181 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. BULLEY, OF CHICAGO ILLINOIS; ASSIGNOR TO MERCURY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC COUPLING FOR TRACKLESS VEHICLES.

Application filed December 13, 1815. Serial No. 66,589.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, Gnonor. W. BULL-BY, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county. Illinois, have invented'a certain new and useful Imrovement in Automatic Couplings for rackless Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic couplers for .trackless' vehicles.

One of the objects of my invention. is .to provide an ill'l rovcd coupler which is adaptable to vehic es which are not confined to any definite lineof travel that is to say vewhich arenot intended or designed. to travel i 'on rails ortracks. L

a 'Anothe zobject of my invention is to proroved couplerwhich will be cal'toniaticully eonnectinfp, in .train vehicles regardlem-o the angu V in. I i M My invention consists in-the features of novelty exemplified in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein.

described, shown in the accompanying drawings' and'moreparticularlyset forth in the appended-claims.

Referring to the drawings: V Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a tractor or power propelled vehicle and a truck or trailer connected in train relation by an improved automatic coupler embodying.- my invention;

. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. l; but showing-the two vehicles outof alinemcnt or offset laterally.

Fig. 3' is a 'viewof the vehicles shown in Fig. 2, but disposed at an angle to illustrate the coupling range of my improved-structure I Fig. 4 is a plan view of the adjacentend portions of the vehicles and of my improved eouplerstructure;

Big. 5 is a sectional view talu'u subs-hmtially on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Specification ot- Lc ttcrs Patent.

hieles such as tractors, trucks andthe like position which said vehicles may object of my invention is tojpro-v omatiecoupler. of this character 'e isilnple, durable and reliable ctloii, and effective and elficiant in' line'of travel is not confin'cdin any way to -a definitnidirect'ion by tracks or rails. I have coupling mechanism, such as used for rail- Iatented Aug. 27, 1918.

Fig. 6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and l Fig. 7 is a view in elevation of the adiacent end portions of the two Vehicles in uncoupled ition showing the normal position of t e parts of the coupler.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art} after having obtained an understanding 0 my invention from the disclosures herein made, that my invention is capable of embodiment in other or modified structures '5 than that shown in the drawings without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention, and I wish itzso understood.

i P rection des .In other words, their devised a system for handling and niani ulating vehicles of this character in \vhic I connect to" other anumber, of these trucks in train re ation and provide a tractor or :6 locornotive,-soto speak, for haulin the train 1 of trucks'froin place to"place as ash-ed.- In

a system of this charactcrthe.. ti11cks must, of necessity be connected by couplers to form a train; whether the train consists I5 merely of the-power unit orlocomotive and r a single t'railer, orxvhether it consists of'a t imlling unit and a plurality of trailers. I

nd, however, that the ordinary coupler or way cats. or vehicles which travel along de nitegiaths; on rails, is entirely. unada tab e an impractical. for coupling tog or cars or trucks in industrial haulage when the cars or trucks are tr'ackless; that is to say do not travel on rails. And one reason, among others, for this lies in the fact that, "because the trains of trucks do'not travel on rails, it is extremely ditiicult and inconvenient and involves a loss of time to line up these trucks and their tractor in such manner as to enable them to be coupled by the ordinary coupling mechanism. The trucks and tractors are just as likely to be standing in any angular or offset relation as they are to be in alinement. Again the train of trucks might have been coupled and standing in proper alinement but the locomotive or tractor out of alinement or perhaps even without room to pro erly line up or coupling. Such a con tion as just mentioned is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the tractor is in an angularly ofl'set position with respect tothe trailer truck. It is readily'seen that the' ordinary coupler, which primarily requires proper alinement of thewehicles in order to be operable, would be entirely in efl'e'cti've, in fact inoperable, to couple the vehicles, together which are in such relav tive position as illustrated. The purposo of myg inyention is toprovide acoup'ler which ,,s ei ally adapted =for vcoupling,.=together t" V vehicles usedin industrial haulage of. the particular relati position :they, may be men to bef-iit thetnne flesired to ma-keit eccoupling In these of any of the various tracti ks ,jvhich are H tracks tar em oya elncles along de h I -oupl on With; a. tractor and to e is ill'piler'stood thatthese 'col lplers 4e p'loyed between any number of M le, lation, :.In carrying out my inventionil 'rovide each truck with what might be called, forv convenienc e, a hitch or draft ,membcr C wliichprojects outwardly from 'gtheend of the truck a sufiicient distance and in proper po 'lt ion to engage the cooperating parts'of the mplinginechaliism which are :carried by; thqgrend of the adjacent. vehicle, which 5o,in-,th is instance is the-tractor A. 'lhis hitch or iglraft member C, .in this particl'llar constizlr'ction, is triangular or. V-shapedandconsists of a bar or member having its'two ends attached to the truck The ends of this member are attached to um. truck by-giving each of said ends a single turn about a terminates in a downwardly turned end w el A trat'tolifwhich"in'ithiscase is the li thei wise fastenedto the rear edge tk fbbdw-this trough memberb '.i -t w tiiilly rcarwardly. Abrace member tim s'which are to be assembhal' i'ri' train re until they project beneath the front of the truck body so as to engage the body of the truck and actas stops to limit the downward movementof the bitch: that is so as to maintain the hitch in proper elevated position to engage the other coupler parts. This hitch or draft member may, if desired, be made elastic or resilient so that in operation it will yieldingly lower when the forward vehicle drops below the level'of the trailing vehicle. In the structure shown, however, I prefer to make the draft member rigid so that its forward. end cannot be depressed below a definite position which is determined by the limit stop ends 4, and to take care of. the operating condition just mentioned in a mannerhereinafter described. The. loop members 3, to which the hitch member 0 is fastened are spaced apart at considerable distance on the truck so that the draft member will be substantially rigid in a lateral orhm-izontal-direction. The twoiside portions of thehitchare merged at their-outer ends in'a single or common portion 5 which forming insubstantial book, as shown. more clearly in Figs. 5 and.6.' And in this ease I is it this hook which-cooperates'with'fthe vpai'tsof the coupler .inechanism carried-by n'eeedingjrehiclef The rear end the vebicle has a comparatively long groov t -daghgl member'l), which at its'ejgd t-' embers oz-"brackets 10 securel that the opening or moutl A ighont its entirelength faccslb an v als'o'provided at thecentral portiouiliitrough member to further strengthen the structure. On its lower rear edge, however, it has a continuous lip or flange 11 which is cngagcablc by the hookcd end of the hitch member. This raised lip or flange forms a trouglr or groove in the lower portion 'of the trough member I), and whcn thebo'oli is engagcd in behind the lip a coupling councction is cfl'coted bct ween the two vehiclcs sullicicnt to draw the trailing vehicle along. lint in order that. the book may properly and automatically be entered .into this trough member I provide a broad apron or deflector 12 which projects downwardly and rearwardly from the lip. in fact. in this particular construction the lip or flange it |n'efc rably formed by thc upper edge of the dcllector apron 12, this dcllcrtor apron bein madc as a xiparalc nu-mbcr and seoure'y fastened by welding or otherwise to the trough iuclnbcr it. it may. if dcsircd. bc l'ormcd integral with the trough nu-iubcr l). 'lhc dcllcctor apron is as long, and in fact sonu-what longcr that thc trough nuanbcr so that it. togcthcr with the trough inciulLSU ber, may be said to occupy substantially the width of the tractor body. The parts a're so proportioned that the deflector apron as s iown in Fig. T depends below the lowest position at WlllCll the hook portion of the draft member normally maintained by the stops 4 when the vehicles are not coupled together. When the hook portion is in engagei'ncl'it with the lip 11 it is elevated son'iewhat above its normal position thus allowing for variations in the relative levels of the two vehicles when in operation.

Thus it is obvious that when the vehicle is backed up toward the truck or the truck moved forward toward the tractor the hook portion of the draft member C will strike the deflector and the deflector will direct or guide it upwardly and into the trough memer where the hook may then drop into engagement behind the lip or flange 11 and couple the vehicles together. This automatic coupling operation occurs at whatever point the hooked portion strikes or engages the deflector apron without regard to the offset or angular relation in which the two vehicles may happen to be with respect to each other. This gives a wide, and 1n fact whatmight be termed a universal range of coupling effectiveness to the structure. The vehicles may be offset laterally (Fig. 7) with respect to each other to' an extent substantia ly the width of the deflector apron and still be in coupling, relation, and this range is increased when the vehicles are not only offset 'but angularly disposed, as shown for instance in Fig. 3. It is desirable, however, that after the coupling operation has been effected the draft should take place along the longitudinal center of the vehicles while the vehicles are traveling and I therefore arrange the structure so that thecouplings will automatically center themselves along this longitudinal or central axis. To this end I make the trough member B and the deflector apron 12 of angular conformation; that is the trough member and deflector are tapered or bowed, so to speak, rearwardly, the center or rearmost point coinciding with the central longitudinal axis of the vehicle as shown clearly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. And this taper or angularity of the trough member sullicient so that after a coupling connection has been ell'ected between the hitch and trough member at any point throughout the width of the trough member, the draft or pull applied by the tractor to the coupler, together with the resistance offered by the truck will operate to cause the hook to slide or shift along the trough member D until it centers itself: that is until it reaches a central point in the width of the trough member. The tractor operator need not pay any particular attention to the position of his tractor relatively to the truck. He simply backs the tractor generally to ward the truck until the hook or draft member is deflected or guided into coupling relation to member D, and then starts in the general direction in which the tractor is headed and the hitch or draft member will automatically shift into a central position and properly aline the trucks in train re lation. During operation there might be I tendency for the train to buckle and uncouple the connection due to sudden variations in the pull on the coupler or various other causes well known in train operation, but this is prevented by the trough member D, particularly its inner or forward wall 15, which turns rearwardly and overhangs the trough: This serves as an abutment and prevents the draft member from being thrown out of the trough, the space between the overhanging portion of the rear wall and the lip or flange 11 being just sufficient to permit the entrance and exit of the hook. An advantage of this particular construction is that there is practically no lost motion between the hitch member C and the coupler member D. Having once assumed an alined position, however, it is desirable that this relation be maintained while the train is traveling and particularly whileturning curves. I therefore provide a deeper socket or depression 16 at the center of the trough member D, into which socket or depression the hook may drop after having reached this position. It cannot then shift laterally but at the same time will have a pivotal movement when the train turns curves. The hook is inclined rearwardly so as to insure its remaining in firm engagement not only with the lip or rim 11 but also with the socket 16, the rearward portion 16 of which is undercut orhollowed out accordingly. Furthermore the rear upper edge 16 of the socket at the central portionis bowed to a slightly greater degree which assists in preventing the lateral movement of the hook from its cen- 11 tral posit-ion.

It is obvious that when the trailer truck is to be uncoupled the operator may simply take hold of the hitch or draft member and raise the hook out of engagement with the 115 socket 16, but I prefer that he shall be enabled to uncouple the mechanism without leaving his seat on the tractor. I therefore provide a trcadle 20 on the forward platform of the tractor convenient to the op- 120 erators feet. This treadle lever is connected by a link or pull rod 21 to the lever or arm 22, which is mounted on a rock shaft This shaft is journaled in suitable depending bracket bearings fastened to the 125 tractor body just forward of the coupler member I). The rock shaft carries another arm 24 which is connected by a small link 25 to the lower, end of a plunger or release trip 26. This plunger is reciprocable, by 13,0

55 its centralized position and means for actuhook.

the mechanism just described, in the bottom of said socket l6, and hence said u per end is IJfBSllZlOHCd just below the end 0 the bus when the operator presses the treadle he will raise the trip member 26 and force the hook upwardly until it clears the top of the socket 16 and thereby frees the hook which will withdraw from the trough member D upon a slight forward movement of the tractor; when the operator releases the pressureupon the treadle the trip member will return to normal position. The

socket 16 in fact is formed partially by a depression or notch in the upper end of the plunger trip 26 and the wall 27 of this notch is undercut or tapered downwardly.

In like'manner the forward space or portion 28 of the hook is correspondingl formed to cooperate with the undercut we. 1 '27 and the purpose of this arrangement is to rovide a lockingaction between the hoolc and its socket, especially when the traintends to buckle up; this hook from being forced. out o the socket when the train does buckle.

\Vhat I-clai masimy invention is:

1. The combination of a broad coupler member having angula'rly disposed portions meeting at substantially central point to provide a comparatively wide coupling .range, a cooperating hitch member capable of engaging said coupler member at-any pointin said range and at various angles with. respect thereto, means for automatically centering the hitch .member with respect to the coupler member after having engaged said coupler member, and'a lock for holding the hitch member against shiftposition with respect to lively central position when the vehicles a re moved relatively apart from each other, and. a lock operable to retain the hitch 1n ating said lock to disengage the hitch member from the coupler member. V

3. In an auton'iatic coupler for trackless vehicles, the ('(uuhination of a wide range coupler member embodying the horizontally arranged lodges extending the width of the coupler member and converging angularly toward an intermediate point, a draw-bar member mounted for vertical movement and revcnts the having its end formed to engage said ledges at any point in their length and at various angles with respect thereto, and ads ted to shift along said ledges while engage themwith to said intermediate oint when the coupler member and drawar member are at said intermediate point for holding the draw bar member therein against longitudinal and lateral displacement. 1

4. In an automatic coupler for trackless vehicles, the combination of a wide ran e. coupler member embodying the horizontal y arranged ledges extending the width of the coupler member and converging angularly toward an intermediate point, a draw-bar moved relatively from each other, and means I member having its end formed to engage said ledges at any point in their length and at va-j v rious angles with respect thereto,and adapted ,7

to shift along said ledges while engaged therewith to said intermediate point when the coupler member and draw-bar member are moved relatively from each other, means at;

said therein againstlateral and longitudinal displacement, and a manually operateddevice at said intermediate point for actuatin said draw-barmember to disengage said rawbar member and coupler member.

5. The combination of two trackless vs: hicles adapted to be operated in train alinement, and coupling mechanism of said vehicles capable of coupling said vehicles to gether regardless of their relative position with respect to train aiinement and embodypoint for holding the draw-bar member in'g angularly disposed shouldered portions carried by one of said vehicles extending transversely of the width of the vehicle in r a substantially horizontalplane, a vertically movable draw-bar member on the other vehicle having a hooked end normally maintained in a plane parallel-tobut separated from the plane of the shouldered portions and adapted to engage said shouldered rtions at any point in their length an to shift to a central position when the vehicles are moved relatively from each other, and an apron disposed along the length'of said shouldered portions adapted to deflect the draw-bar member from its normal plane into engagement with said shoulder in theact ofcoupling the vehicles together.

6. The combination'of two "trackl essvv hicles adapted to be operated in train aline i ment, and coupling mechanism of said vehicles capable of coupling said vehicles together regardless of their relative position with respect to train alinement and embodying angularly disposed shouldered portions carried by one of said vehicles extending transversely of the width of the vehicle-in a substantially horizontal plane, a vertically movable draw-bar member on the other vehicle having a hooked end normally maintained in a plane parallel to but separated from the plane of the shouldered portions and adapted to engage said shouldered rtions at. any point in their lengthen to shift to a central position when the vehicles nre moved relatively from. each other, on-

dis w along the length of said draw-ha member from its normal plane into engagement with said shoulder in the act 0 of coupling the vehicles together, and a portions 'adapted to deflect the guard overhanging said shouldered portions to prevent the disengagement of the drawbar member with respect to said shouldered portions.

Si ed b me at Chicago, Illinois, this 16 7th 52y of mber 1915.

onoizon w. BULLEY; with, to:

H. A: Swnmvron, All! JEIIIA}. 

